Motives
by TelephonePollster
Summary: Some perspectives. The characters think about the other characters. Starts after rescuing Ioder from the sinking ship. All party characters done so far. Spoilers at chapter 5 and beyond.
1. Yuri

Motives

Guess I'm bored. I've been playing through Tales of Vesperia again, and I love the characters and all, so I was thinking about them. This is more of a summary of my ideas of their opinions of each other than anything. And I'm weird, so you'll probably disagree.

Watch for Spoilers! Be careful! Only Part One for now. This is set after the group first lands on... the continent north of Illychia, maybe Tolbycchia? Oops, memory lapse. Hehe. So, for context, Ragou and Barbos have escaped, and Zagi blew up the ship. That part. I have played the entire game through before, so please don't think I'm doing this without personal context.

In case you couldn't tell, nothing belongs to me.

We'll start with Yuri's thoughts.

...

Yuri

Yuri Lowell acted for the Lower Quarter.

"Not just the Lower Quarter," some people might say, "You care about everyone, Yuri!"

Pah. Some people needed to learn to shut their mouths.

He had to agree with the girl, though, because he knew she was right. He did care about everyone. Every family struggling to find their child, every noble pretending-not-to-be-a-princess girl, every damn cat in a tree (Flynn had never lived that down) – he felt obligated to mitigate everyone's suffering.

It was either fortunate or very unfortunate that Estelle was willing to go along with that. After all, he was glad to be able to help anyone he wanted without complaints, but it was definitely taking a toll on their progress towards the aque blastia. Estelle was on the same wavelength where helping people was concerned: she'd jump right in with her artes as soon as she saw an injury, just like he would if he could. Heck, she'd use her energy to heal them as soon as she'd jump in with random book quotes! It never seemed to occur to her that one of those actions spent nothing but time, and the other made her fall unconscious.

The kid was in no hurry to get back to his city, for whatever reason, and of course Repede would follow along, but that mage kid was only in it for Estelle. And apparently, her blastia research. That was as flimsy a cover for wanting a friend as Yuri had heard in a long time. If Estelle weren't there, Rita would be gone too.

Not like that really mattered. He was starting to think she got them in to worse situations than she got them out of. It was funny at first, when he thought she had just been in a bad mood, but when he realized she was always pissed about anything possible, her temper got old quick. You don't just shout, "Who the hell are you?" at the person the Knights have been escorting! That's just stupid! Well, maybe not stupid, but way over the top. It wasn't just Zagi who needed a chill-pill prescription.

Even Karol's cowardice was okay, compared to the cynical fifteen-year-old; it fit his age. Yuri hadn't mentioned it, to preserve the guild member's pride, but being scared of a ten foot bear when you're barely four two yourself is normal. And as much as that mage boasted, her knowledge of blastia was nowhere near as practical as Karol's skill set. Lockpicking, cartography, tracking monsters, even his own healing formula – and what did she do? Throw fireballs at knights. Throw fireballs at mercenaries. Throw fireballs at the dragon rider. No, the boy might be a coward, but at least his assets outweighed his issues.

Mostly. Yuri still couldn't believe that Karol fell for the "your legs are shaking" trick every time.

Well, whatever. He'd probably miss the others a bit if they left, but for him, getting the blastia back was most important. He'd be fine with just Repede along. If he happened to save a few more kids on the way, well, no one could complain, right?

...

No, I don't hate Rita, she's my favorite character.

I think that Yuri'd be a bit fed up with her attitude, after she treated Ioder like that. That could've ended with serious trouble, and although he'd take it lightly, it would have been a needless hassle.

And as much as he teases him, I think Yuri's proud of Karol, and his massive array of plot-convenient abilities. I wonder if he was part of the thieves' guild. Not likely.

Estelle's really a lot like Yuri. I think he appreciates her willingness to heal random people, except when it can get them into trouble.

So yeah, I've got the other first few bits written. Next is Estelle. Of course.


	2. Karol

I lied. It's Karol. After the boss in Caer Bocram, before Estelle gets officially labeled.

I don't own it. The game, I mean. Or no, I do, just not the rights to the characters. Sigh. I didn't think disclaimers would be difficult.

...

Karol

Karol did it for friends.

"Not like they'll like me anymore, after that... Damnit! Why am I so - "

But they didn't leave. Nan left, everyone left, so why didn't...

"Yuri... Thanks!"

"Huh? For what? Hurry up, or you'll get left behind."

"Uh... Oh, OK! Yeah!"

"Geez, the little runt can sure use his legs, when it comes to trailing us."

"Hey, shut up Rita!"

Karol really wished she would stop being a jerk. But she was mean to everyone, except Estelle, but even then, she didn't call the noble by her nickname. Well, time to get out of the city.

"Hey, Yuri? I'm really, really sorry... I'm such a c-coward..."

_Ha! Like I'd really say that out loud! I guess I really am a coward._

"Karol! I said keep up!"

"Yes, even I don't want to get lost here, and this architecture is fascinating! Be careful! I was so glad to see you were safe, I don't want to lose you to that monster after all!"

"Th-thanks, Estelle..."

"Grr-woof! Rrrrf woof woof! WOOF!"

"Repede's glad you're OK too."

"Hrr, rff! Rff ROOF!"

"He wants you to warn us next time you run off, so Rita won't worry."

"WHO won't worry, dog? H-hey, wait, did he really say - "

"Hehe, OK, Rita, I'll tell you next time!"

"I don't know about Spot over there, but I was just fine!"

"It's OK, Rita, we know you care."

"Yuri, you started it by translating for the dog! So stop trying to translate for me!"

"Don't shoot the messenger! I'm just tellin' it like it's told!"

_This is... This is just like before. Before I ran away... they don't care? They don't care that I left? But, Nan said... No, Nan doesn't matter right now. I'm with my friends!_

"Hey, you! Pansy! Yeah, get that smile off your face, and start showing us how to leave! You ARE the map expert, RIGHT!"

"Yikes! OK, don't hurt me, Rita! I'll get right to it! The cartography guild was really cool, y'know. I learned lots!"

_We'll all get right to it, and we'll go to Dahngrest, and it'll all work out fine! Because... because these guys are REAL friends!_

_..._

Daw. Karol is happy.


	3. Tsunderita

Third one, now. Sorry this took so long, I kinda forgot to post it. We're on to Rita – just after the blastia screws up in Heliord. Estelle has collapsed, Yuri has yet to re-enter the room. You know the room, right? The inn thing. I'm gonna make this one longer. Mostly 'cause this time is a major character shift, in my opinion.

Clearly, I don't own this stuff.

...

Rita

Rita worked for the blastia.

Sure, at first she wanted to clear her name. Seriously, why the hell would she ever bother stealing that core? Heck, why would she have been in the Capital at all? Busy people don't waste time! _Obviously we have some terribly unoccupied people with us._

Anyways, now it was for the blastia. All of it. Leaving the normal mages behind in Aspio _not like they cared, no one normal wanted to be her friend,_ antagonizing the knights and chasing Ragou, fighting countless vicious monsters, going to a destroyed ghost-_NO! Not ghost, but __empty_city... that had nothing in it but the strongest monster yet... and knights to arrest them... Damn it, why had they gone there again? Oh, right. Karol's... thing.

But seriously, all of it was about her blastia! It was just convenient to travel with a group. _A group that happens to have a pink-haired princess in it. _

Estelle. Estelle was... _problematic confusing fascinating kind pretty powerful _DIFFICULT. Yes, difficult. She didn't need a blastia to use magic. She just... converted the aer into tangible power like – like it was nothing! She was like a living blas-

But no. Every time Rita started that thought, she interrupted herself. _Estelle is not... a thing. Estelle was a person, not a blastia._ But she wanted, Rita wanted oh so very much to be able to trust Estelle, believe in her like she could believe in a blastia.

_When did I start calling her Estelle in my head? Here? Bocram? ...When she called me her friend?_

She couldn't help but start up when she heard someone knock. Yuri, probably.

"Come in."

"Glad to see you're awake." He walked over. Yuri was interesting. He had actually called her out on her attitude several times as they travelled. _Most people just shiver and assume that's how I always am. _"...And after I told her over and over to call me before she collapses."

Maybe she wanted to trust him and the others too. Maybe. But he was kinda annoying about the princess.

"You didn't think she'd really listen to you, did you?"

They both snapped their attention to the princess as she sighed in her sleep. Rita smiled a bit.

"Heh, she looks happy."

The atmosphere was comfortable, warm, even with the rain outside. Rita voiced her thoughts, looking away from the ex-knight. Somehow, her thoughts felt...

"Hey, so... What do you think Estellise thinks of me?"

... inane? Rita didn't know why she cared what he thought, but maybe he would know more than she did. The princess was so confusing, after all... When Yuri didn't answer, she looked at him. Her smile dropped as she started to glare.

"Why are you making that face?"

She couldn't really glare well, seeing a stunned expression on the generally stoic man's face.

"I just didn't think you were the kind of person who cared what other people thought."

_Damn it, stop reading me!_

"F-forget it. You can go now." She looked away, frustrated and blushing at having even asked.

"Compared to those formulas of yours, she should be easy to figure out."

_Easy? Surely she can't just be – _

"Uuh... Huh? Rita! You're awake!"

_- nice to me for - _

"But be careful! It's just when you think you've recovered that you're in the most danger."

_- no reason... Right?_

Rita realized she had been staring. She shut her eyes as Estelle started to heal her, once again pretending to use the blastia, pretending to be normal...

No one normal wanted to be Rita's friend. Rita didn't trust normal people. But Estelle - _the human so much like a blastia, so useful, so powerful, but so easily influenced_ - Rita could trust her. And just like she would with a blastia, Rita would definitely protect the princess.

_Fine. It's not __all__ for the blastia. I can spare some energy for her._

...

Thaaat's done. My writing style is probably changing as I write these. I should go back and make sure they're consistent, but... Well, key word is should.

I think the next one will be that one guy. The one with a purple jacket. Yeah, him. JK, Raven's like my second favorite character. I wonder if I'll end up doing characters like Flynn? Hmm. I'll think about it.


	4. Raaaaaven

All right! Time for Raven! Hehe. No way am I gonna write this guy as funny as he is in game. I wish.

This is in Keiv Moc. I won't be more precise because I have no idea exactly when. Let's say before the boss.

No... ownage... ever! (I'd capitalize it, but I think you know what I'm talking about. If not, it's Barbatos' Mystic Arte. But not. Aw, screw it, I shouldn't explain the joke.)

...

Raven

Raven worked for the present.

_So why's the present always gotta work against me?_

"Now, now, calm down. This old man might hafta use his ol' achin' back as an excuse if ya don't."

"You slippery, slovenly, senile fool!"

"Aw, now that hurts! An' it was alliterative too, wow! Ya sure put lotsa energy inta yer criticism. Wanna put some energy in a back massage fer ol' Raven?"

"Like hell, old man! Massage with this! Stone Blast!"

Well, at least she hadn't actually killed him. He still wasn't sure exactly why she was ups – oh right! The conversation about fears! What was she hiding?

"Ya know, if you kill me, I'll come back an' hauntcha! That way, y'll never have ta part with me again."

Well, it was part of his job to find out, right? He was supposed to work with them, and how could he do that if they weren't willing to work with him?

"D-d-don't b-be r-r-rid-"

"What's that, Rita darlin'? Yer afraid of ghosts? Aw, don't worry about that! Uncle Raven's here ta protect ya!"

"Sh-shut up! Ghosts don't exist, and even if they did, they'd think you were one of them, you wrinkle-faced creep!"

That was easier than he had thought. Rita was just a hotheaded little girl after all. She had some trust issues – granted, none of them trusted Raven, but she only trusted Estelle – and wouldn't accept that she had nothing to hide.

"Wow, Raven, you sure know how to get Rita mad, don't you?"

"Son, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that pain can be worth it for the future."

"Huh? How is getting insulted worth it?"

"That's fer me ta know and you ta find out, kid."

"I could find out quicker if you'd just tell me."

Karol was easy to figure out. The kid was just an ordinary guy, really – afraid like he should be, but also mostly accepting of that fear. Admirable, in Raven's mind, because most people just sat back and waited for someone else to take care of anything they were afraid of. That someone was usually the Don, for people living in Dahngrest. Maybe Karol could teach Harry a thing or two.

"Hey Karol, you might as well stop trying. The old man's senility has gotten to him."

"I'm hurt! It ain't senility, it's the weight o' the world sittin' on my shoulders!"

"...Which has everything to do with mental capacity. Right. I'll make a note of that."

As for Yuri, Raven was glad he was along. The strong ex-knight was keeping exactly the right distance. He wasn't pushing for answers, but Raven could tell that anyone who threatened the group would be in big trouble. He was pretty straightforward too. Calm, collected, and smarter than he looked, but altogether, just a guy with a penchant for justice. It was good to know that there was a cool head on the good guys' side.

"Hey, look at that! It's so... shiny!"

"It's been just as shiny for a while, Estelle. You need your eyes checked?"

"Ooh, Yuri! I know that, but this is the first time we've seen it clearly! Thanks for spoiling my mood!"

Estelle was the simplest of all. She wanted adventure. Which was a problem for Raven. He could hardly keep an eye on her if she raced off every time someone needed help.

_An' I can't believe I just thought, 'thank goodness Rita's here.' But I guess that mage is really tryin' hard ta keep the Princess safe, regardless of what that means fer me._

At least he knew his companions well enough to know they needed some silliness around.

"Well, ya know, there's always some sorta monster guardin' the prettiest terasure! 'Iiii am the eeeeevil Magpie!' Ya better watch out, Rita! Those goggles o' yers look pretty tasty."

"Magpies like shiny things, right? Well, old man, how about we test that? I'll light you on fire, and then we throw you down and see if anything eats you."

"Yeesh! Yer a scary, scary girl! You don't have a boyfriend, do ya?"

"Shut up! As if you have a girlfriend!"

Who knew that following orders could be this painful?

Well, he lived for the present, after all. Even if that present meant being blasted by an angry teenager later.

And it sure was fun annoying the kids.

...

Hmm. I'm not too happy with this one, because nothing happened. Well, stuff happened, but...

I decided half way through that this was set right before the aer krene came into sight.

I guess my gist was that Raven's supposed to keep tabs on Estelle and the group, but to do that properly he's gotta work his way in. This also helps with his future orders from his other boss.

I guess I should add spoiler warnings on at this point. I'll do that.


	5. Judy

Judith

Judith did it for fun.

Most people didn't really understand that. Of course, no one knew who she was yet, but she had heard the rumors.

"Did you hear about Ehmead Hill? The new barrier they put there was smashed up! They said there was a dragon rider!"

"No way, really? Cool! He must be from another continent or something!"

"Yeah, it couldn't have been a monster, or anything, right? But the guilds don't want to pick a fight that badly, so it wasn't them, and it couldn't have been a knight. Who else is there? A hunter? Wonder what he wanted?"

From that point, the speculations continued. Maniac trying to kill humans, half-human, half-beast, anti-Imperial protestor, the list went on. She had even heard a few people blaming the researcher Mordio, who had apparently been causing a scene at the Hill.

But now, for the first time, she was helping someone else. And he was going against his friends' wishes for his personal quest. A lot like she did all the time.

It was quite exciting.

"Whoa, don't tell me we're flying straight into that storm… Hey, you listening? Hey! Hold on!"

_You should be the one holding on, fool._

Judith smiled at Ba'ul's dead-pan thought. The Entelexeia had taken a liking to the swordsman, simply because the man wasn't afraid of a fire-breathing monster, but even the essentially kind dragon couldn't stop himself from making rude comments in private.

_Keep an eye out for the core. It should be at about this level, see the eye of the storm?_

Judith nodded, knowing Ba'ul could tell she had heard him. She readied her spear.

The black haired man tensed. He was clearly a skilled fighter, as he reacted to every movement quickly, but reflexes went only so far…

…

_Well, that was a fiasco._

She sighed. Ba'ul did not need to tell her that. How was she supposed to know the swordsman would just jump off like that? Of course she got distracted from the blastia, he could have been seriously hurt!

_But now you might be seriously hurt by that crazy mage._

Rita? She wouldn't be a problem. Probably. Besides, that nice young princess was there to help keep the other girl at bay.

_But how do you plan to finish off the blastia? After all, you missed about half of the key components before. It's not like she'll let you bash the rest of it up._

She could… make something up when she got there. For now, she would focus on having fu-

"Wow! Hey, Karol m'boy, see this? Yuri gave me the Sorcerer's Ring, and it's gone all green an' stuff! Look, look!"

"Huh? Wasn't it like that before?"

"Honestly, these kids… Ya think they like shiny stuff, an' then they don't even pay aaaany attention. 'M I the only one excited by this? C'mon, at least Rita's gotta be-"

"Shut up while I'm reading, old man!"

Ooh, that punch had to hurt.

_I feel like I'm missing out._

"Watch it, old man, didn't you want to grab the eye of the Krytian "princess"? You can't do that with a black eye and a bruised shin."

"Yeah, Rita, Yuri's right! Next time, at least make it somethin' cool that I can brag about."

"You can brag about surviving against these monsters with two black eyes. Want to give it a try?"

"Rita, at least hold off until we take down Barbos! Right now we need to work together!"

"But after that I'm an open target? Oh, Karol! Ya really know how ta hurt my feelin's!"

Raven… Well, Raven seemed like a joke. He couldn't be as old as everyone said he was, and considering his skill with a bow, he was useful in battle, but still… He could afford to take his situation more seriously.

_Look who's talking._

Judith would have Ba'ul know, she took fighting very seriously.

But at least Raven had a reason for being there. As for Karol, Judith was mystified by his presence. He was a competent fighter, but he must have been twelve! Not to mention, his motivations for tagging along were a mystery. Maybe he was just upset about Yuri leaving, but still, why in the world would a little scared guild boy be trying to attack the big boss of the Blood Alliance?

_Couldn't they be asking why a Krityan researcher is hefting a spear – enthusiastically – at every chance she gets? And why her research entails studying a tower built within the last few years? A tower no one knew about?_

Well, all right, perhaps the boy had his reasons.

The princess, or Estelle, as everyone called her, was another odd case. She seemed quite attached to her friends, but still only seemed to be at Ghasfarost on an impulse. Granted, she was understandably worried about Yuri going off on his own, and her healing artes were useful, but most people would have put more thought into their actions before charging off to a dangerous tower full of unknown enemies, dragging along at least three other people. And a dog.

_I bet she does that a lot. Maybe that thoughtlessness is a side effect of being raised as a princess. But at least she's doing it with good intentions._

Intentions didn't matter, Judith thought, when they endangered people's lives.

_One could argue that your actions endanger my life, you know._

One could also argue that an Entelexeia would only help me if he wanted to.

_That is true. As a side note, you haven't forgotten this child's relation to the disturbance at Heliord, have you?_

She actually had almost forgotten. It was quite easy to forget that Estelle was dangerous, knowing that she was good at heart. That much was obvious just from looking at her influence on Yuri and Rita.

Rita... Rita was funny. She had lots of power, certainly, but her motivations were completely different from the rest. Judith got the impression that "revenge on the 'dragon freak'" was the mage's top priority, quickly followed by "keeping Estelle out of danger." As an observer, Judith found herself more and more amused by Rita's vehement denials of anything that would imply she cared about her partners. It was obvious she wanted friends. Judith wondered, though, if she cared more about blastia or people.

_It looks like an interesting group. I assume you plan to follow them, to understand more about the Child of the Full Moon?_

Judith sighed. Meeting this group had already shaken her convictions about the Hermes formula, and similar formulae. But maybe, just maybe, she could learn more by traveling with such a diverse group than just with just Ba'ul and her own ideals.

"Aiiiaaaah! Estelle, help me!"

"Oh! Raven? R-Rita! Don't aim that way, that gear is loose! Please, calm-"

"Who the hell do you think you are, doodling in my spell book! You want art, huh? I'll show you my art – fireball tattoos!"

_Was that crashing a bad sound?_

Probably. But it confirmed Judith's thoughts: regardless of ideals and blastia, regardless of the other's motives for following Yuri and the princess around, this group of fighters was definitely a lot of fun.

And Judith liked fun.

...

Um, yeah, so I sorta forgot to write. I was distracted by a bunch of stuff. Not to mention, I had a ton of trouble with this one. Dear goodness, Judith, how can I write you?

Ba'ul was just a plot device for me to keep the writing going. Sorry that it - the writing - is not so good. I'll keep thinking about this one. We'll see if it gets changed.

But regardless, next up is… Oh, I know, Repede! Yeah, there we go. After Yuri goes Batman on Ragou.


	6. Dogwog

Repede

Repede traveled for himself.

Sure, he liked Yuri, but if he wanted a simple life he could just as easily have stuck with Flynn. No, Repede liked adventure. And this one was particularly interesting.

He didn't even need to lift his head to understand exactly what Yuri was planning as he stepped out the door of the inn with his sword in hand.

Repede took some time to think about this action. Yuri had never gone so far before. But then again, no one had truly seemed to deserve it before. Repede himself hated Ragou.

In his mind, a human who could betray the trust of his comrades, act solely in his own interest – that human deserved contempt, as those actions are more befitting of a coward.

A human who could abuse his power for monetary gain, for personal luxury – that human deserved punishment, as those actions are more befitting of a thief.

However, a human who could tear families apart and feed others to monsters, all for his own enjoyment – that human deserved death, as those actions are more befitting of a monster.

Ragou did all of those things. Repede understood Yuri's feelings. But he also understood that the swordsman was betraying his friends' trust as well.

Karol, the small warrior – he followed Yuri almost blindly, inspired and motivated by the former knight. His trust was that of a child to an older brother. He believed that Yuri would do the right thing. Would he accept murder as right? Would he understand Yuri's decision?

Estellise, the naïve princess – she was drawn to explore, and did so by traveling with Yuri, who had helped her escape from the castle. Her trust was that of an admiring girl. Whether that admiration was friendly, familial, or romantic, it made her believe that Yuri could not be bad. Would she believe his vigilantism was admirable? Could she stand to follow a man who fought against her empire?

Repede couldn't help but prick up his ears at the exchange between Yuri and Ragou.

"Do you intend to harm me? I'm a member of the Council, you know!"

_An evil man…_

"I c-could crush you w-with a single command. You won't get away with this!"

_Deserves to die._

"The laws and the Council may have let you go, but I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Aagh! S-stay back!"

_But does killing him make the killer evil as well?_

The sound of a sword on flesh only came once. Repede opened his eye to watch Ragou gasp and stumble, muttering, "I was so close… Dein Nomos…"

Repede suspected the words meant something, but only to the man that spoke them. To the dog, they sounded like a wasted last breath.

Words… Humans relied on them, demanded that their peers explain their actions. But what explanation would be necessary for this murder? Could Yuri's action not speak for itself?

"Repede…"

To Repede, it didn't matter how Yuri acted, as long as he had good enough reasons. For others, though, there would be different considerations.

There was probably no universal answer to the question, "what counts as evil?" But trust worked in enough different ways that, to a silent companion like Repede, it seemed likely that Yuri's friends would not lose faith in him simply because he broke the law.

They would instead believe that he did the right thing.

Repede shut his eye. He would need more sleep, if he was to be ready to leave the next day.

…

Hmm. I think Repede is pretty smart, personally. But there was no way to incorporate Rita, Raven, or Judith into this bit. Just to state my opinions, Repede likes Rita and Judith (we know from skits) and really doesn't care about Raven. I think he is driven by his code of honor. He follows Yuri because Yuri is relatively honorable.

I guess Rita, Judith, and Raven don't fit here because they wouldn't care about Yuri murdering Ragou as much as Karol and Estelle would. Judith won't tell anyone off about questionable acts, Rita probably wanted him dead and didn't kill him herself because she didn't think of it (and it would upset Estelle), and Raven has killed people himself, I bet, and would know how hard it would be to risk your life and reputation to kill someone. All right, signing off before this gets longer than the VERY short chapter.


	7. Hueraspelled Wrong

Estelle

Estellise Sidos Huerassein sought more knowledge.

All the questions she had never asked herself, all the fears lurking in her heart, all the parts of the world she had yet to discov-

"Gah! NoooononononoNGAAH!"

And of course, saving Raven's life when he went too far with teasing Rita. That was a big part too. How had she forgotten that?

"Rita, please calm down! We're in the middle of a cavern filled with bears. Raven should be your smallest worry."

Estelle was glad that she and Rita had become friends.

"Hey, he treats you OK 'cause he's got orders to watch you! If he didn't, then you'd see how he really is, I bet!"

Real friends, at least. Before the blastia acted up in Heliord, Rita was always getting annoyed with her.

"Actually, I am a ladies man, young mage. I treat _ladies_ with the utmost respect."

"And I treat perverts with the utmost disdain!"

Now, she was treating Raven much worse. Estelle jumped back as she felt the ground shift beneath her.

"Gah! Since when have 'disdain' and 'Stalagmite' been synonyms?"

"Rita!"

She had been worried that Rita would stay mad at her about going to find Phaeroh, and that she would have just said, "Hmph! Go get killed, see if I care," and just walk away. But she hadn't, and instead, she was acting like a little knight for the Princess. It was very funny.

"Hmph. Fine, but I won't give you any slack if you keep it up. Fair, Estelle?"

"Not fair, not fair!"

"Shut up! I wasn't asking you, old man!"

Estelle decided her presence was no longer necessary, and walked up beside Yuri, Judith, and Repede. The latter was still following Regaey's trail, and Estelle decided not to bother him. After all, according to his reactions to her former attempts at making friends, a straightforward approach meant nothing.

"Oh, what's the matter, Estelle? Why are you looking at Repede with such a defeated expression?"

"I guess I was just thinking, Repede's known me second longest out of everyone in this group, but he still likes everyone else better. Like you, Judith. He even lets you pet him! It's not fair."

Although, she had to admit, Repede was right to like Judith. The Krityan was very pleasant, but sharp, too. She might have made a better princess than Estelle did; she was just so collected and proper, except when it came to clothing and fighting. She always had her head in the right place. Even if it was embarrassing, Estelle was grateful that Judith reminded her of her main goal every once in a while. She had so many things she wanted to do, it was hard to stick with just one.

_Although, it seems like I'm the only one with that particular problem._

"I wouldn't say he likes _every_one better. Just look at how he treats – "

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

"GRROWF!"

"Ahh! Not the face, not the – down, boy! Down!"

"Good boy, Repede."

"Hehe. It's rare to see Rita and Repede getting along, don't you think?"

"I guess they do agree on Raven, don't they."

Most of them agreed on Raven. He was… just too sketchy. They knew he had orders from Don Whitehorse, but why was he getting the orders rather than someone else? How had he become important to Altosk? And why was he in jail when Yuri first met him? Estelle had no idea where he really came from, or of anything about him. She just got the feeling he was a good person overall. For her, that was good enough.

"Hey, Repede! Focus on the trail!"

Estelle's attention snapped to Yuri as he spoke. He had been quiet for a while, but no one wanted to start a conversation with him anyways – he had a serious, slightly scary glare plastered on his face.

Yuri was very interesting. Whenever it came to hunting someone down, he got more excited. He was just as intent on finding Regaey as Repede was, maybe even more so. He loved fighting, especially against strong enemies, but he didn't seem to like winning very much. He always defended people, especially his friends. He definitely had a strong sense of justice. Estelle thought he made a good unofficial knight.

"OK, you've been staring at me for a while, but the smile and nod have got me interested. What exactly are you thinking, princess?"

"Oh!" She blushed in surprise. She had thought he hadn't noticed. "Well, I was thinking that… um… you're very good at protecting us."

"Huh. Took you a while to think it. Just try to contain the stares next time you want to make an obvious statement about someone."

She looked at the ground, face reddening even more. Unfortunately, this made her trip over Karol.

"H-hey! Watch where you're going, Estelle! You made me mess up this entry in the Monster Book!"

"I'm sorry, Karol! Can I help fix it? Is the page torn? Did you spill ink all over it? Oh no, I'm really sorry, I'll get you a new – "

"Whoa, no, it's nothing like that. I just got this 'r' a little long, I didn't mean to make you panic."

"O-oh. OK. I'm sorry anyways."

Estelle was glad to have Karol in the group. He really made her proud, even if it wasn't her place to be proud of him. His dedication to Brave Vesperia was already his defining characteristic. To Estelle, who was eighteen and still looking for a purpose, the twelve-year-old's courage in pursuing his dream seemed incredible.

Although, it wasn't really true that she didn't have a purpose. Not anymore, at least. She found herself glancing at Rita and Yuri, as if to check that they weren't reading her mind. They wouldn't be happy with Estelle's personal mission.

_I want to find Phaeroh. I want to know what he meant by insipid poison. And if I truly am poison, then I will do the right thing to stop myself, whatever that thing is._

"Estelle?"

Rita's voice penetrated Estelle's thoughts.

"Yes, Rita?"

"Uh, w-well, it's just, you look kinda serious and worried and – "

"Aww, are you worried too, Rita? Haha, if Estelle's looking serious, it's because we're trudging around in a cave."

"I-I'm allowed to talk to her, so butt out, Yuri!"

"Yeesh! Fine, fine…"

"Oh, I know, boy. Yer just tryin' ta help, and she let's loose on ya."

"Don't heap me in with you, old man. She doesn't hit me with fireballs."

"That's 'cause yer too darn smart to provoke her."

"You realize you just called yourself stupid, right?"

"Wha- aw, darn it! I thought I'd reached my quota of name calling just from hangin' around Rita!"

Estelle giggled, and turned her attention back to Rita.

"You said I looked worried, right? I was just thinking about our fights recently. You and Karol have been getting hurt a lot, and I wanted to come up with a better strategy, but that's not really my strong point. Strategizing, I mean."

"I didn't mean to worry you! I'll be more careful next time, I promise!"

She smiled at Rita's swift apology.

"But in return… just… you please be careful too…"

"Huh? What was that?"

"N-nothing! Just don't get yourself hurt, either! We can't deal with terrifying monsters with only Karol's healing artes to help us. Stick with Yuri or something. Or Raven. He's a good punching bag, so he'd make a good shield, too."

"All right, I will."

"Heeey, what was that about Raven the Great? Are you singing my praises to the fair maiden?"

"I'll sing your praises to the monsters if you don't shut up, old man! But I bet you'd like that. They'd be your biggest fans! By a long shot!"

Estellise Sidos Huerassein sought more knowledge in many areas. And with this group of friends, she knew she could find it.

…

Gah! I just can't write Estelle! I can't think like her! But this should look cheesy. That's intentional. Because, like, three-quarters of the things that pop out of Estelle's mouth are cheesy.

Also, you may have noticed that I have Rita and Raven talking a lot. That's because I imagine that whenever they get within five feet of one another (or maybe even fifteen feet) Rita will hear Raven rambling on to someone else about something (he likes talking) and she's gonna get mad. So most of the exchanges that everyone can hear are between Rita and Raven: they argue a lot, they argue loudly, and they argue in any situation.

I think Rita's unwillingness to say stuff nicely is funny. I bet at this point in the game she doesn't want anyone to hear her say something like "stay safe" or whatever unless it's meshed in with a logical reason.

I couldn't have Yuri talk much here. He's in srsbiznis mode.

OK, as Logan Not Here mentioned, I've run out of party characters! So, next up is

… SPOILER …

Khroma. Approximately three minutes after this scene ends. If you've played/watched it, you know what I'm talking about. Time to get hypothetical!

BTW, coolest looking dragon/Entelexeia/eaglething in the GAME. In my humble opinion.


	8. Khroma

Ha. So yeah, I forgot a bit, then I was lazy 'cause it's summer, and then some other stuff happened. And Then Some Other Stuff Happened is actually a hilarious book. I recommend it.

Anyways, it's been a while since I played any parts of the game that involved Khroma speaking, and she REALLY doesn't do a lot of talking anyways. So I made her a character myself. BTW, I don't count the spirits' personalities as canon character for the Entelexeia they came from. Otherwise, this would be so totally different.

...

Khroma

Khroma believed only in knowledge.

She had always tried to remain detached. In fact, she thought of herself as quite successful in that regard. She was _good_ at remaining unemotional.

So why, for the sake of all that the Entelexeia stood for, was she helping this band of world-vandals?

Sure enough, they were fascinating. She had only properly seen them once, and at that time they were dubious at best:

The tall, dark haired man clearly showed less respect than he should to the Commandant.

The princess seemed enamored with her little adventure. The guild-boy was too cautious for someone his age.

The mage had caused nothing but trouble with her devotion to blastia.

The strange Krityan seemed to warn Khroma off simply by smiling gently, even though Khroma had done nothing threatening or untrustworthy.

The dog – well, the dog wasn't a problem until the Weasand of Cados, where he seemed to recall her scent. Fortunately, he couldn't communicate it. She thought he had gotten distracted, too, by the fact that she looked like a giant dragon.

And the old man. Oh, he was a strange one. Of course, working as closely with Alexei Dinoia as she had been, she knew exactly who he was – or used to be. But with this group, it had seemed he kept character perfectly. She wondered if it even counted as a character any more.

Of course, he had no idea who she really was – for that matter, neither did the Commandant nor anyone she worked with. And that had been her primary concern: _keep informed about others and keep others uninformed._

It was her creed of sorts. She found posing as a Krityan very convenient. She had never quite grasped the humans reactions to their problems. To her, they seemed insignificant – let alone the fact that she would hardly be able to make such rash decisions that would put her in those situations. She thought before she acted – and that seemed to separate her from humans with an impassible barrier. The Krityans, however, were much more rational. They sided with the Entelexeia, whether from instinct, tradition, or a general dislike of hastiness.

And they gathered knowledge.

Lots of valuable knowledge.

Which was her main reason for being disconcerted by the group of travelers. They gathered knowledge, too – the type of knowledge of which they were supposed to be afraid.

And Khroma found that _fascinating._

She had hardly ever met a human she could deal with; even less could she expect to be interested by them. Alexei was an exception to her normal opinion on humanity, as he seemed to think far forward and for many people, although he had become less forthcoming with his thoughts over the last few years. She was willing to work with him in the capacity of a secretary, as he had needed one and having that position in the castle put her where any information seeker wanted to be: the middle of everything, but slightly removed from the people – much like the Krityans in general.

She found her thoughts interrupted as one of her passengers stirred on her back. She hurriedly sped up her pace to reach the old town of Yormgen before the passenger awoke – a quick glance told her it was the Princess who was almost conscious.

Khroma brought herself back to the present situation and away from the castle and her thoughts on humans. To the fact that Phaeroh had managed to summon a terrible illusion of a monster Khroma had not seen before.

She had been quietly following them since they left the Weasand of Cados, as she expected trouble and knew she had to keep at least the Princess alive. She was not worn down by the several days it took them to cross the Sands of Kogohr, but they were clearly on their last legs by the time they reached the west.

So why had Phaeroh chosen to attack them indirectly? If he were truly trying to kill them, he could have simply assaulted them himself. Instead, he left them only mostly dead, and her with the task of bringing them to an illusory village.

She would never have brought them all to safety otherwise, even though she was fascinated by them – excepting "Raven" and the princess, of course. If any of her observations were correct, they all posed a threat to not only her employer but also the Entelexeia. After all, they would all want to save the Child of the Full Moon, regardless of their impact on the world as a whole.

No, even her interest in them was not enough for her to actually _want _to – she was detached, interested in learning, not in people. Their lives were not so important to her really.

Only because Phaeroh had told her to save them had she done it.

She shook her head as she landed close enough to the village for her unconscious passengers to be found and far enough away to be unidentifiable to any onlookers.

She would certainly like to keep tabs on this group. If nothing else, they seemed to be a valuable source of information.

And, after all, she could only remain aloof as long as she viewed them as information. As what she really wanted to have.

She flew off, only looking back once to make sure they were found and being transported to safety. Not that it mattered to her that much.

Khroma was only acting for the sake of knowledge – she had no true interest in what befell them.

…Perhaps she would eventually even convince herself of that.

...

Ooh, didn't think she'd turn out tsundere, did I?

Ha, well making up an actual personality for a pretty darn flat character is hard. Keep that in mind, folks.


	9. Belius

Belius

Belius fought for understanding.

As her sanity drained out of her mind, the wise old Entelexeia mustered all her willpower to restrain her rekindled violent instincts.

Her failure to do so did not cause her grief, or any undue perturbation. She only thought, _perhaps now I may forget about that embarrassing incident with Gusios' pet squirigle,_ before almost all sentience left her.

…

As Belius witnessed the Child of the Full Moon cast another healing spell on the young boy, who had been knocked back by a forceful gust of brilliant green wind, Belius' final vestige of control was able to process a sense of relief. For someone with so much power, the Emperor's daughter seemed remarkably free of personal desire. Granted, Belius knew little of the girl, but she wore clothes no less stained than those of the fierce-eyed man, and she was dedicated enough to her friends to heal them even in her trance-like state of shock.

As the Duce knew from personal experience, being in a position of power provided infinite excuses for laziness and cruelty. The temptation to abuse privilege seemed to take a heavy toll on most human's morality, yet this girl, who had not only rank but also inherentt magical ability, thought only of helping others. She had even tried to heal Belius, despite having only Phaeroh as a reference for what an Entelexeia was like, and without knowing anything about her aside from their unexpectedly short conversation that night.

Belius wished she could make the girl understand that she was not at fault, but the Entelexeia's energies were directed at slowing her movements to give the fighters more time to recover.

She shifted her focus on to the boy. He had, Belius recalled, immediately cringed upon seeing her form that night. His panicked shout and terrified look had made her believe that he was not a very brave lad. But here he was, standing up yet again after enduring a rapid series of hits, and running back to swing his hammer with a shout: "Dragon Upper!"

The Arte connected, and the aer imbued in the strike knocked Belius off balance. She had revised her opinion of the boy when she saw him take up the front line when it became clear Belius was a true threat. Any coward would have taken advantage of the chaos to escape, or at least run away after taking a few hits. But he stood firm – and Belius recognized that bravery strong enough to fight off terror was truly difficult to find.

She hated every hit she delivered him, but knew he understood that she was powerless to stop herself.

She distracted herself from his cry of pain by shifting her thoughts again. Judith had told Belius that she could not bring herself to fight against an Entelexeia, and was instead holding off another crowd of guildsmen. She had met with the Krityan before, when Ba'ul had first begun traveling with her. She had clearly changed a lot in the ten years since: she had begun a quest to eliminate her father's blastia, had traveled across a great deal of the world, and had apparently joined a guild – all of which put her ahead of most Krityans in terms of actual experience. Belius knew that Phaeroh respected her, which said a great deal, and in a brief mental conversation, she had gathered that Judith was trying to convince Phaeroh to spare the Child of the Full Moon's life.

Belius did not know Judith very well personally, but she understood that the woman was trying her best to remove a great threat without resorting to murder.

Alongside Judith fought two others, both of whom had caught the Entelexeia's attention. Belius had been surprised by the presence of a dog, intrigued by the fact he carried a knife, and above all impressed by the intelligence in the animal's eyes. It saddened her to think it was impossible to learn more, but without holding a conversation, she could glean no understanding of his situation – and at this point, conversation was out of the question.

Belius' body reacted to a vicious slice from the dark haired man, and eliminated the light of the torches around the arena to create a shadow double.

_I must be getting desperate, to use that technique,_ she thought, before coming to the disturbing realization that she would likely not live another year. But far more disturbing to her than her imminent death was a second thought, or more a memory, of the man with the bow. The Don's messenger seemed to be lighthearted and energetic at first glance, and was now assisting the Krityan and the dog with their human opponents. She could hear him making fun of them, and see him smile as he twisted into bizarre poses for no discernable reason, but she had seen a crack in his cheerful façade.

His eyes told a different story than his mocking tongue, and if their silent tale was to be believed, then the man was not meant to be speaking at all. She had learned to read eyes, to see personality through them, but these eyes did not belong to a living man. Even the aged humans she had known – and all humans became old quickly, from an Entelexeia's perspective – had a light that could not be put out by anything aside from death. This man had no light.

She wanted to understand how such a thing was possible, but she thought that, even had she found a chance to ask, she was not likely to receive an honest answer.

But the deadened man had an opposite on the battlefield, in the shape of a powerful swordsman. His entire frame had seemed active even when he stood; his calm face contrasted with his constantly moving eyes. As he threw chains of attacks at her, he seemed to be constantly calculating his next move. Belius had known before that he cared more about the safety of his friends than for himself, especially when listening to Phaeroh's words on the group, but now she saw him use his philosophy in action. He worked as a sheild when he could, and did not shy away from her attacks, trusting completely that it would not be long before the Child of the Full Moon healed his wounds. His belief in his teammates was evident as he shouted for the boy to focus on the shadow as he attacked the main body - Belius had thought he would try to take all of her aggression onto himself, but she was surprised and impressed at his recognition of the best solution.

She wanted to understand how his trust had been built, but knew that her mind would not last long enough to ask about his journeys.

Again, her thoughts were shaken, but this time by the shouts of the mage girl. Belius had hardly noticed her standing behind the Child of the Full Moon, until she loudly declared her opponent's weakness to the element of Earth near the beginning of the battle. From that point forth, she was chanting constantly, launching devastating magical attacks, and occasionally reminding the other girl to heal herself. However, her rational behavior changed dramatically after the shadow clone noticed the princess. When it attacked the healer, the mage hit it fiercely (although ineffectively) with her book, and spent a long while running around the arena, trying to escape its interest once more.

Belius was rather amused, but was questioning the girl's intelligence at this point; after all, why would she stop dealing heavy damage to draw the shadow away from the sole combatant holding a shield? But the mage suddenly stopped in her tracks to stare at a brazier. The Entelexeia would have smiled, were she in control, when the girl began hurling fireballs with abandon, relighting the arena and removing half their battle with a proud "Ha!"

Belius wondered if the girl was aware of Judith's cause, and if she was aiding her, but knew that she would never see the extend of the mage's understanding of aer.

Another strike from the tall man brought Belius to her knees. The boy gathered his strength once more, and gave a final downward smash to finish the fight. Belius felt the adrenaline and feral state of mind drain out of her, while the surrounding aer began concentrating and forming a crystal out of her spirit.

...

"Estelle, c'mon, we have to go!"

"Rita..."

"Hurry it up guys, we have to get to the boat!"

"I wonder how Tokunaga is doing?"

"Judy, is now really the time for that?"

"Well, aren't you worried that our captain has been captured?"

"Not really. They aren't after innocents. Just me. Hey, Estelle! Keep up!"

Estelle looked up. She had been letting herself get dragged along by Rita, not paying attention to her surroundings, but now she saw that everyone was waiting for her to acknowledge them. She forced a smile.

"I'm sorry, everyone. But... you understand how I feel, right?"

Six solemn nods.

Five humans, one krytian, and one dog, all from different walks of life... But all of them had wanted to understand the Entelecheia's view of the world.

...

Yo! Sorry bout this depressing bit, but I hate how Belius had to die! I mean seriously, she was awesome! She was like the voice of reason, aside from Natz.

Alllllso... 'Bout that wait...

I'm in college now! So I've been adjusting for exactly one month now. I figured you deserved an update, though. Really sorry about the wait!

Next I should do... Umm... Ooh! How about this... Next is another depressing chapter: The Don! See you in a month or so, I've got a paper to write :P


	10. Da Don

The Don

Don Whitehorse wanted to rest.

Running Altosk was an important job. He got that part. But if it was really his job to run it, and it was really that important, then who in the hell had hired all these numbskulls?

"Fer the lovea – wouldja warn me next time yer plannin' on lettin' the minor guilds rally?"

"Sorry, boss – I thought we said that Tuesdays were good for that."

"Maybe by 'we' ya mean you and yerself! Fine, I'll go listen. But keep in mind that I've got Leviathan's Claw ta deal with too. I'm only givin' this an hour."

He stumped out of the room, stretching a little as he walked. Sitting on his throne was tiring in many ways.

He supposed it wasn't really a throne, though. The people were his priority, not money, or an army. He wouldn't make a proper king. Fitting, then, that everyone treated him like royalty minus the pampering.

"Don! Pallestralle's on the move here! Aren't we gonna fight back?"

"They're invading Dahngrest! We should retaliate!"

"As soon as they get here, they'll be ready to attack!"

"The Hunting Blades did this, not us! Where are they hiding?"

So many different folks to deal with, and most of them sticking their noses where they didn't belong. They were talking to him as if he didn't know what was going to happen. No one had brought up Harry's name yet, but it was coming. He settled down as much as he could to consider the voices of Dahngrest, Yeager, and Harry's dumbfoundingly rash decision to rush off to Nordipolica.

…

As he raced towards Keiv Moc and the Leviathan's Claw Headquarters, The Don contemplated Pallestralle's actions. They were pretty much a mob, not anything that Belius would let happen. He had no doubt that by the time he was back, the two groups would be frothing at their mouths for some bloodshed.

Some of the information guilds had reported that Yuri Lowell's group was on its way back to the city, right ahead of the Pallestrallians. Well, all the better. He trusted that Raven had kept Harry alive like he said he would. Maybe being the man at fault would teach the kid a thing or two. It wasn't gonna be easy for him to bear the blame from both sides at once, but he'd have to deal with it.

The Don grinned as the lights of the Manor of the Wicked came into sight.

"It's a helluva night for vengeance."

…

"I never thought you'd try anything THIS risky."

The Don's mind had been focused on his enemy until the door was slammed open. Yeager looked glad for an excuse to not start fighting. The Don's frown deepened. Lucky bastard.

"Finally made up my mind that this mudball'd be a much prettier place without you on it."

"The other master guilds surely won't like you ignoring the Union's laws for your personal vendetta."

He felt that glare chill his bones. Of course they wouldn't forgive him. Neither would Pallestralle.

"And I'll face the consequences." He had death coming for him from so many directions it almost made him laugh. "But it's daybreak now. Looks like I've underestimated ya a touch. I'm outta time." Curse his old bones. No one else much noticed him slowing down, but if he'd been a bit younger he knew he could've finished Yeager off before the night was half gone. "If I don't get myself back ta Dahngrest, those fools're gonna start a war with each other."

The bastard actually snickered at that.

"H-heh. I think it's a bit late to prevent that little accident from happening."

"A couple eggs might have ta be broken. But I'm prepared to pay a price."

He heard Raven muttering something under his breath. Of course he'd figure it out.

Raven was a good right hand man. Everyone treated him like a joke, but he was loyal. He vanished sometimes on his own agenda, sure, but that kind of man wouldn't just run away. Not when it was really important. He taught people how to help themselves.

"You've still got us to deal with, Yeager."

Yuri Lowell. He fought like a madman, but came out grinning anyways. Ha, if only he could share some of that spirit with Harry, the guilds might be doing a bit better. The Don didn't know much about the man, but he knew he liked him. Except, no one should try to take on other people's revenge. Then again, maybe Yeager had done something despicable to them too. Wouldn't put it past him.

"Well, it looks like the tide's taken a turn, ja indeed."

He was gonna run away. Typical. That man seemed to have less decency than the girls down at the bar. But he'd been respectable before. Ruin's Gate was a serious venture. He'd been meticulous about making things run properly back then. He had to get bored, though. Yeager was a coward sometimes, but a fighting man at others. And digging up blastia wasn't good enough for him. So he started an assassination guild. Ha! Of all the stuck up things to do, an assassination guild. There's making your own laws, and then there's stupid.

"Bye bye!"

"Hey, wait!"

The mage girl's voice snapped the Don back into the present. He noticed that Karol was missing from the group. Surely he hadn't been kicked out again? That kid was pretty cowardly too, but the Don knew he could do better. He'd thought this group was the right one for the kid, too. Ah, well. He'd come into his own someday. Asking him to do it when he was what, twelve? That was a bit much.

"Damn, that guy's a regular vanishing act."

The flippant comment reminded the Don to be angry at the fools.

"Now what's with all of you? Just how'd ya figure comin' down here'd be the smart thing ta do?"

"This is a keepsake left by an ally of yours. We were asked to bring it to you."

The Don suddenly felt very, very tired. He'd known that Belius wouldn't have let her guild rampant, but seeing what was left of her really made it hit home that she was gone. _They're toppling all kinds of giants these last few weeks – Barbos, Belius, and now I'm falling too._

"…Looks like I caused you all some trouble. Of all the… why'd she have ta end up like this…?"

"Just what is an apatheia, anyway?"

What's her name wanted an explanation now, of all times? Ah, he didn't feel like moving just yet anyways.

"Well, ya see…"

_Ah, that's about my luck._

More red-eyes filed into the room.

"Hm… 'Fraid I don't have time ta explain it now. Hate ta cut and run, but I'll leave the rest of these guys ta you."

No more beating around the bush. It was time to face the music.

…

As the Don prepared to end his own life for the sake of everyone else's, he was a little sickened to realize he was ready to die. He'd wanted to rest for a long time, but he'd thought that keeping going meant something to him.

_Heh… Makes my words to all these people sound a little hollow. But what they don't know won't hurt 'em. How long has it been, anyways? Since I last closed my eyes…_

…

Whut. I guess taking breaks from writing really does damage your abilities. But with all those essays in college… /cry. Well I think this guy is really cool, and I KNOW I didn't do him justice. But I have a hard time getting in the minds of really cool people. Hope you enjoy it.

…Hmm? Where was I? Why did I disappear? I didn't disappear. You're imagining it.


End file.
